Soil aeration devices are generally designed to cut a plug out of the soil instead of driving a spike into the soil because the latter approach compacts the soil. Towable soil aerator devices typically remove plugs of soil while forming an enlarged soil aeration pocket. Such aerators include hollow cylindrical tubes that enter the soil at an angle to cut free a cylindrical soil plug which contains grass, grass roots and soil. As the soil aeration device moves forward, planetary gears in the soil aeration device cause the soil aeration tubes to pivot to form a soil aeration hole or pocket wherein the bottom portion of the soil aeration hole is larger than the top opening of the soil aeration hole. The soil aeration tube is then lifted out of the soil to remove the soil plug, which is usually discarded on top of the soil.
One of the difficulties with soil aeration devices is that a substantial amount of soil, grass and roots in the form of cylindrical plugs are left on top of the soil. These soil plugs must either be removed, allowed to decompose, or pulverized via mowing. Generally, the larger the soil plugs, the longer it takes for the soil plugs to decompose naturally.